Morning Edition

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Morning Edition, with Cathy Wurzer in St. Paul and NPR hosts in Washington and Los Angeles, brings you all the news from overnight and the information you need to start your day. Listen from 4 to 9 a.m. every weekday.

Morning Announcements | Weather chats with Mark Seeley | Parting Thoughts

After four-year hiatus, underground mine tours resume at Soudan State Park
For the first time in four years — after the COVID-19 pandemic and then a $9.3 million reconstruction project — public tours of the Soudan Underground Mine in northeast Minnesota are poised to start up again on Memorial Day weekend.
Art Hounds: Bach on the road, BALLS Cabaret and ‘When Doves Choir’
On Art Hounds this week: BALLS Cabaret is back every Sunday at Strike Theater! The Minnesota Bach Society’s Mini Mobile Concerts are in St. Cloud. And Choir! Choir! Choir! teaches the audience to sing Prince, in harmony, at First Avenue on June 1.
Sole GOP lawmaker on cannabis negotiating panel shares concerns about rollout
Widespread cannabis dispensaries are one step closer to reality after the Minnesota Legislature approved a bill speeding up the process for licensing. Rep. Nolan West has lingering concerns.
Like it’s 1865: The Rochester Roosters are bringing back vintage ‘base ball’
If you happen to drive past the Olmsted County History Center in Rochester this summer, keep your eyes peeled for rogue baseballs. The Rochester Roosters, a vintage “base ball” team, just started its 27th season playing there.
Job Interview: Barber who works at the Capitol has learned it’s best not to split hairs
State lawmakers may be heading home once the legislative session wraps up, but Ken Kirkpatrick still has his work cut out for him. He’s the former owner of Capitol Barbers, located on the Capitol campus.
Researcher who studies rural Americans calls out damaging stereotypes about rural voters
Colby College government professor Nicholas Jacobs argues that rural voters are far more complex than some academics, liberal politicians and journalists give them credit for — and it’s a reason why rural voters increasingly gravitate toward conservative candidates. 
Minnesota lawmakers pass reforms to property forfeiture law
The fix was needed because a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year declared Minnesota’s current forfeiture system unconstitutional. The new process offers owners a chance to claim the surplus value of their tax-forfeited property.
New book is ‘love letter to Prince and Purple Rain’ ahead of 40th anniversary
Prince’s story is told by Minneapolis-based music journalist Andrea Swensson, host of the Official Prince Podcast and a Minnesota Book Award winner. She calls her new book, “Prince and Purple Rain: 40 Years,” a “love letter” to his legacy.